This is the latest thinking from American recruiters about using AI in resumes and cover letters. In short, don’t
Roughly half of American workers say they’ve used AI to write their resume and apply for jobs, according to a CNBC and SurveyMonkey Quarterly AI and Jobs Survey of 1,686 workers in July.
Senior recruiters across American say using AI is killing job applicant’s short-listing chances.
Recruiters get tens of thousands of resumes and application materials everyday, which are very similar because people have used the same prompts to customise their applications.
Note that a “copy-paste” resume from AI tools raises fraud alerts and the application will be spiked.
Someone who has genuinely written a response that sounds like a human, stands out.
American recruiters want applications that are specific, direct and clear about why you’re the best person for the job.
Skip mass application tools
Don’t send out 100s of job applications using AI-driven platforms.
Focus on what specific roles you want, set alerts for them, apply within the first 48 hours with a tailored resume, and follow up with the recruiter or employer.
Showing motivation and intent are crucial.
Search by skill
Most people search for jobs by title via online platforms. Try searching by skillset instead, including competencies such as data analysis, relationship building, team leadership and copywriting, or technical skills such as using Figma, Jira and Salesforce.
Focus on skillsets you enjoy most, are proud of, or that friends and colleagues say you’re best at.
LinkedIn, alumni groups and other professional networking resources are obvious places to look for jobs.
A fact which should be highlighted in Australia
It’s important to know why job growth isn’t the same as hiring.
US recently added 162,000 jobs – far more than the 55,000 economists expected.
But that net growth doesn’t necessarily reflect a hiring boom.
Think of the labour market as a sink full of water, said Kory Kantenga, LinkedIn’s head of economics for the Americas.
The water level represents the number of people employed. Water pouring in from the tap represents new hires, while water drains out of the sink via quits, layoffs, and retirements.
In today’s low hire/low hire labor market, the tap is running at a trickle — relatively few new jobs are pouring in. Yet even fewer jobs are draining out, so the water level is still rising.
The economy has added net jobs in nine of the past 12 months but hiring and quits have both slowed considerably, and layoffs are low.